Rugby World Cup 2023 Quarterfinals preview, lineups, predictions

We are officially at the end of the tournament with the start of the round of 16. With only eight teams left, who will make it to the final four?

Read ahead for team rosters and previews.

– RUGBY WORLD CUP 2023: Teams | Calendar | Ranking | Podcast | Injuries

Jump straight to a particular game.

Wales v Argentina

Ireland vs New Zealand

England v Fiji

France versus South Africa

Saturday October 14

Wales vs Argentina, Stade de Marseille, Marseille (5 p.m. local / 2 a.m. AEDT / 4 p.m. GMT)

Wales: Liam Williams, Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams, Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Aaron Wainwright, Tommy Reffell, Jac Morgan (captain), Adam Beard, Will Rowlands, Tomas Francis, Ryan Elias, Gareth Thomas.

Substitutes: Dewi Lake, Corey Domachowski, Dillon Lewis, Dafydd Jenkins, Christ Tshiunza, Tomos Williams, Sam Costelow, Rio Dyer.

Argentina: Juan Cruz Mallia, Emiliano Boffelli, Lucio Cinti, Santiago Chocobares, Mateo Carreras, Santiago Carreras, Tomas Cubelli, Facundo Isa, Marcos Kremer, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Tomas Lavanini, Guido Petti, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Julian Montoya (captain), Thomas Gallo

Substitutes: Agustín Creevy, Joel Sclavi, Eduardo Bello, Matias Alemanno, Rodrigo Bruni, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Nicolas Sanchez, Matías Moroni.

Verdict: Wales make six changes for the quarter-final clash in Marseille, with Aaron Wainwright moving to No.8 in place of the injured Taulupe Faletau. This sparked a back row overhaul, so Tommy Reffell is at fly-half and captain Jac Morgan is at No.6. Also in the peloton, Adam Beard starts on the second row. In the half-backs, Dan Biggar and Gareth Davies are reunited, with Josh Adams back on the wing, but there is no place in the matchday squad for Gareth Anscombe, who was injured at groin in the victory against Georgia.

Argentina make two changes with Facundo Isa named in place of injured talisman Pablo Matera, who has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a torn hamstring, while Tomas Cubelli starts at scrum-half and gets the green light in front of Gonzalo Bertranou.

Expect it to be close. Warren Gatland knows what it takes to reach the last four of a tournament, having done so in 2011 and 2019 with Wales, while Argentina are yet to reach the expected heights in this tournament but has a brilliant coach in the person of Michael Cheika. With both teams without their remaining star rowers, this is going to be a loss and will achieve very little.

“We haven’t talked about the underdogs or the favorites, we’re just following our own processes,” Gatland said. The quarterfinals pose their own challenges and pressures because you’re either here until the end of the tournament or you go home on Monday. As a team, we’re definitely not ready to go home.”

Tip: Wales at 5 o’clock

-Tom Hamilton

Ireland vs New Zealand, Stade de France Saint-Denis (9 p.m. local / 6 a.m. AEDT / 8 p.m. GMT)

Ireland: Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe, Johnny Sexton, Jamison Gibson-Park; Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Peter O’Mahony, Iain Henderson, Tadhg Beirne, Tadhg Furlong, Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter.

Substitutes: Ronan Kelleher, David Kilcoyne, Finlay Bealham, Joe McCarthy, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Jack Crowley, Jimmy O’Brien.

New Zealand: Beauden Barrett, Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Leicester Fainga’anuku, Richie Mo’unga, Aaron Smith; Ardie Savea, Sam Cane, Shannon Frizell, Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor, Ethan de Groot.

Substitutes: Dane Coles, Tamaiti Williams, Fletcher Newell, Sam Whitelock, Dalton Papali’i, Finlay Christie, Damian McKenzie, Anton Lienert-Brown

Verdict: The greatest quarter-final in Rugby World Cup history? That’s certainly what we feel, given what’s happening in Paris this weekend. There is the Irish quarter-final duck; their quest for a record 18th Test victory; the fact that they are playing some of the best rugby in the country’s history. And then there’s New Zealand, looking to avenge last year’s series defeat at home and preparing to bid farewell to some of the greatest of their sport, as well as their coach Ian Foster.

Ireland remain unchanged from the team that beat Scotland, with substitute James Ryan the only casualty. The All Blacks welcome back the big guns who missed the victory against Namibia, but there is a surprise omission: Mark Telea, who was sent off for disciplinary reasons. His place was taken by Leicester Fainga’anuku.

In the past, it feels like this is the kind of game Ireland would collapse in, just like they did in 2019. But this team is so full of self-belief, so acute in their understanding of how she wants to play the match. game, that it will really take a brilliant performance from the All Blacks to beat them. This is not beyond the three-time world champions, especially if they are able to limit the time and space Johnny Sexton has on the ball. If they are able to dominate up front and stop Ireland’s attacking flow, then the game will really be on.

Yet there is something special going on with this Irish team and the story is calling to us – in more ways than one.

Tip: Ireland by 2